


Ginny Weasley and The Broken Curse

by TheNamelessOne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aftermath of Possession, Aftermath of Violence, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assisted Suicide, BAMF Ginny Weasley, BAMF Neville Longbottom, Cursed!Ginny, F/M, Friendship, Ginny Weasley & Severus Snape Friendship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jumping from a moving hogwarts express? why not?, My First Fanfic, Severus Snape Has a Heart, Sometimes a girl just has to save herself, Suicide Trigger, The Most Gryffindor Things You'll Ever Read, This Life of Mine, Unforgivable Curses (Harry Potter), reluctant suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-22 05:07:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17053718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNamelessOne/pseuds/TheNamelessOne
Summary: Ginny Weasley's death approaches and a Fire Goddess is beating against the door. A strange curse and Severus Snape's secrets create far more danger for the powerful redhead than she'd ever imagined. While the keeper of her heart is off to fight his own dragons, Ginny's battle has only begun. She hasn't been feeling like herself lately, and a broken curse is only the beginning. How will she keep Neville and Luna safe, her family in the dark, and hold on to her own life? She can't. PREVIOUSLY TITLED THIS LIFE OF MINE.Ginny POV from the end of The Half-Blood Prince through The Deathly Hallows.





	1. Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next 30 or so chapters of this are already written, so I'll be posting frequently. They will get longer, with more story and depth. Keep in mind I wrote these early chapters years ago when I was still learning how to craft a story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nodus Tollens (noun).  
>  The realization that the plot of your life doesn't make sense to you anymore-that although you thought you were following the arc of the story, you keep finding yourself immersed in passages you don't understand, that don't even seem to belong in the same genre--which requires you to go back and reread the chapters you had originally skimmed to get to the good parts, only to learn that all along you were supposed to choose your own adventure.  
>  -The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Excerpt from the story-

Ginny no longer had the strength to stand on her own. Her world was falling down around her, so she let her body fall with it. Kneeling against the cold stone, she pressed her hand against it, looking for something stable to hold onto. 

She wanted so badly to be comforted.

She wanted her mother.

But her mother needed her own support now, as she lay over the body of her dead child, and in her cries, she begged and pleaded for him to be given back to her. She'd never seen her mother so broken. Her father's arms surrounded her and he himself shook bodily from the sobs he tried desperately to hold onto. 

A bright light in their lives was extinguished.

Gone, and dead. And soon she may be as well. This errant thought did not comfort her, but only brought her further distress when she realized how her family could be left to bury two children--maybe more before this godforsaken battle ended.

Shaking hands wrapped around her arms and pulled her off the ground, and suddenly Ron was there, his arms holding her together, even though his own grief. He held her tightly, and somehow the sharing of their loss seemed to lessen the suffocation of it.

She knew Harry and Hermione must be back there, on the edge of the crowd somewhere watching--but right now, what she needed was Ron. She needed her own flesh and blood to support her, to hold her together and to show her how to breathe again.

As her brother held her in his arms, and he in hers, he cried. God, he cried, and she'd never felt rawer than in that moment. Sliced open and bleeding before everyone; it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

It didn't take long for her sorrow to sour and turn to something else.

She released her brother to another's arms and tried to pull herself back together. She was grateful for it. The anger that was newly forming from the anguish. It brought her back to some form of coherent reality, although she feared she'd never get the time to grieve properly.

In everything Ginny had been through over the last nine months, the abuse both physical and emotional that had been forced upon her by their Death Eater teachers and the everyday fear of something terrible taking root inside her, Ginny had still never felt this sharp, absolute pain.

It dug into her chest and clawed at her heavy heart. The utter loss she felt at her at her brother's stolen life was debilitating. An emptiness had anchored itself deeply and she felt the strongest need to get up and do something about it.

It was just too permanent to accept laying down.

And George...

The heartbreaking realization of what this loss would do to George almost took her to her knees all over again. That her pain was not even comparable to the misery he was feeling was almost too much to take.

Ginny stood among her family, but she felt alone, not knowing what to do. Not knowing the right answer. Not knowing how to fix her family...how to fix herself. She couldn't make the pieces of her family fit together again.

They were too broken.


	2. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blood is spilled, and the night is loud with cries of those left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next 30 or so chapters of this are already written, so I'll be posting frequently. They will get longer, with more story and depth. Keep in mind I wrote these early chapters years ago when I was still learning how to craft a story. 
> 
> If you've read this story before, you'll notice some extensive changes. The story itself is mostly still intact, and the changes have all come through grammar edits or the deletion of early chapters that slowed it down. This was originally chapter seven, so as you can see, I've decided to get right into it. If you've been following me at all, you'll know that this was my first attempt at authoring of any kind, and it's been a project that's brought me a tremendous amount of growth. So much so, that there are themes in this story I would probably choose not to write again. But for the sake of my readers who have already put so much time into it and enjoy it, I will stay true to it and take it all the way to the end.  
> If you're new to this story, I hope you hang around long enough to see the growth I've experienced as the chapters progress in depth and quality.  
> Although I do now have a beta for this story, this early chapter does not, so please excuse anything I missed. You can also find me on Wattpad under NamelessOne.

Life asked Death, "Why do people love me but hate you?"  
Death responded, "Because you are a beautiful lie and I'm a painful truth"  
-Author Unknown

Chapter 1 - Blood

Blood-red hair whipped around Ginny Weasley's face as she sprinted through the Hogwarts corridors. Scratches kissed at her windburnt cheeks and she held tightly to the broom in her hand. She'd been in the air and halfway through a complicated dive when she felt the heat of the magical coin in her pocket come to life.

Those coins hadn't burned since the days of the DA.

Ginny had been spending four nights a week of her free time in the air. She'd created a training program for herself, and wind or rain she was in the air. Sometimes other players would join her, but most of them lost the drive when the storms came out and pelted them into submission. But Ginny's training schedule was the last thing on her mind at this moment. The message on the coin began to fade into nothingness almost the moment she finished reading it. It simply said The Lions Den. Which was code for, assemble in the Gryffindor Common Room.

She dropped her broom and shoved off her Quidditch robes the second she entered the large room and was immediately waved over to a small group huddled around her curly-headed friend. She must have been the last to arrive because it seemed they waited.

"Harry's gone with Dumbledore," Hermione low whisper carried to the entire group, "but he swears Malfoy is up to something and he thinks he'll take advantage of Dumbledores absence tonight. I know it's been a while, but I figured the people most willing to help would be the ones who still carried their coins around with them," she asked uncertainly. When no one contradicted her, she nodded and continued.

She pulled out the Marauders Map and a little half-empty clear vial that looked a lot like Harry's Felix Felicis potion.

"He must really be worried to leave us with that. Why didn't you make him it take it with him?"

"I tried, I'm sorry Ginny." Ginny could tell Hermonie wanted to roll her eyes at her exasperation with him but she refrained. "He was convinced we would need it more. You know how he gets. I couldn't argue with him." Hermione shrugged.

She was right. There were very few things Harry Potter was stubborn about, but when he got an idea in his head, that was it. So Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna formed a close-knit circle, closing out any prying eyes, and opened the Marauders Map. 

"We need to track Malfoy and Snape," Hermione explained, "Harry told us to keep an eye on both of them."

"Snapes there." Ginny said, pointing at the pacing footsteps of Severus Snape in the dungeons.

"I don't see Malfoy anywhere," Ron complained.

"Me neither," Neville said.

"He must be in the Room of Requirement," Hermione frowned and looked at her watch. "Ok, here's the plan. Ron, Ginny and Neville," she pointed at them and handed Ron the map. "You stake out the Room of Requirement. Luna, you and I will hang around Snape's dungeon to make sure he isn't up to something he shouldn't be."

Hermione held up the little half-empty vial of liquid luck and eyed it. "If my calculations are right, there should be enough in here, if split between us, to give us about three hours of luck."

"Are we sure we should be taking this tonight? We don't want to waste it." Ginny said.

"I think Harry was right," said Luna, looking at the map. Three sets of eyes flew back down to it as well and scanned again for Snape or Malfoy.

"I still don't see Malfoy," Ron said.

"Not Malfoy," said Luna "Your brother."

"What?" Run buzzed, "I don't have any brothers that still go to Hogwarts."

Luna pointed down at a 5th-floor corridor at the name Bill Weasley that followed around a set of inky footsteps along the parchment. "Isn't he in the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Yeah, but-"

Hermione gasped "Tonks! And look, there's Professor Lupin!"

"What are they all doing here?" Neville piped in.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it. Professor Dumbledore must have the Order of the Phoenix here tonight because of his absence. I wonder how often he does that?" Hermione's thoughts trailed off into that quiet place in her head where no one could follow. She lingered there for only a moment.

"Well, either way," Hermione hummed, "the plan's still the same. You three go to the Room of Requirement and Luna and I will be in the dungeons. If you run into any problems, find an Order member on the map and go straight to them."

That plan left Hermione and Luna completely vulnerable though. She didn't like it. She thought they should stick together. "Wait," Ginny cut in, "if we have the map, how will you know where to find us if you need us?"

"We'll be fine, we're less likely to run into anyone than you are. The dungeons are practically abandoned this time of night. And plus, we have Felix," Hermione said, holding out the bottle. She pulled her DA coin from her pocket. "If Luna and I get into real trouble and need help, you'll feel your coins grow hot. Then one of you can send someone for us."

They nodded, all taking a small mouthful of the Felix Felicis potion Harry had left them. Suddenly feeling much better about their chances, they made their way to their stakeout points.

~oOo~

Ron, Ginny, and Neville had been scoping out the corridor outside the Room of Requirement for an almost boringly-long amount of time when their attentions were captured by the sounds of shifting stone. They froze, wands pointed at the wall where the door to the Room should be. The door spiraled into existence right before their eyes. It was larger than Ginny remembered and she was momentarily enchanted by its magnetic beauty. Then the door itself swung open and they watched as Malfoy exited the Room. In his hand, he held what looked like a blackened shriveled hand.

Well look at that, Ginny thought to herself. Harry was right. Little twat is up to something.

"Expelliarmus!" Ron was the first to act, but Malfoy cast a shield charm before it hit him and the spell was deflected away. Before any of them could blink, Ginny watched as Malfoy flicked his wrist, and then blackness and smoke enveloped them entirely.

"Stupify!" Ginny heard Ron throw another spell.

"No!" Ginny shouted, "Stop, you might hit one of us! Lumos," she said. But the blue light did not ignite at the tip of her wand. The blackness was too thick.

"Lumos!" shouted Ron and Neville together.

But the darkness remained and she couldn't see her own wand. Someone grabbed Ginny's shoulder and she jumped before hitting the unknown person in, what she assumed, was the face.

"OW!" yelled Neville "It's just me."

"Oh no! I'm sorry, Neville!"

The footsteps of several pairs of boots could be heard around them. They froze again, raising their wands and listening for any unfriendly spell that might come their way. Surely a shield charm would still work in the dark. Ginny quietly reached out and found Neville and Ron in the dark. She pulled them both backward with her until their backs hit the wall. At least they were in a better defensive position now. All they could do was either feel their way down the corridor and out of the darkness or wait for it to subside.

But she was afraid to move from the spot in case Malfoy had set some sort of trap for them to walk into. It took several minutes before the suffocating darkness began to dissipate and by the time it has cleared out, so had Malfoy and whoever those boots belonged to. Ginny grabbed the map out of Ron's hand an flung it open. It took only seconds to find who she was looking for two floors below them.

"Come on!" she hissed, stuffing the map into her back pocket and making a run for the nearest staircase. Harry's suspicions had been right and whatever Malfoy was up to, it couldn't be good. Now was the time to find some help.

The corridors were dark at this hour, but Ginny could see the light of someone's wand just in front of them. The light went dark and Ginny stopped. "Professor Lupin?" she called.

"Ginny?" Lupin's wand lit up again and he now stood directly in front of them. "What are you three doing out here?"

"No time! It's Malfoy and we think he's let some uninvited guests into the castle. He was on the 7th floor, but they got away from us."

"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," Ron cut in. "That must have been what caused the darkness. Fred and Georges," he frowned.

"CONFRINGO!"

An unfamiliar shout came from the darkness and 20 feet above their heads, the ceiling exploded in an onslaught of flames that lit up the night and showered huge chunks of rubble down around them.

"PROTEGO!" both Ginny and Lupin yelled in tandem and a huge shield formed above their heads.

"RUN!" Lupin barked at them and the group set off toward the unknown spell caster and away from the falling debris. All of them had just missed being crushed by the rubble.

"Where's the rest of the Order?" Ginny shouted as they ran the length of the corridor dodging flashes of light sent their direction from the shadows ahead of them.

"Patrolling the rest of the school," Lupin shouted "but that blast was loud enough to bring them in this direction.

And sure enough, just as Professor Lupin finished speaking, Bill and Tonks rounded the corner with a flustered Professor McGonagall and heavy breathing Professor Flitwick.

"What in Merlin's name are you three doing here?" shouted an irate McGonagall.

A streak of violet light flew just past Professor McGonagall's head and Ginny had to duck to avoid being hit.

Suddenly, spells were being cast at them from all sides. Everything else forgotten, the eight of them, backs together, defended each other and returned hexes into the darkness. McGonagall gasped as two masked Death Eaters hit the floor. The rest retreated, barreling off in the opposite direction.

"Death Eaters in Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall whispered. But there was no time to be shocked. The fight was on. The Order of the Phoenix and the DA pursued them, neither knowing what horrors they had planned for their school. For a small moment, Ginny worried they were after Harry, but sighed in relief that Harry was long gone from here this night. They would take him over her dead body.

Three Death Eaters flew up the steps that lead to the Astronomy Tower. Two more lifted their wands and a silver magical barrier expanded before them. It blocked the entrance to the stairway.

Ginny took cover behind a suit of armor as familiar green jets of light flew by her again. Whoever these people were that hid behind coward's masks were aiming to kill. She wanted to ask what kind of people aimed to murder children and teachers, but she already knew what kind. Monsters, all of them. A figure clad in black robes flew past Ginny and headed right for the barrier. Professor Snape, she saw. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or worried, but there was no time to be concerned about it now. He flew right through the silver shield and was quickly out of sight.

Neville took off after Snape "No, wait!" Ginny yelled. He hit the barrier and it ricocheted him back the other direction as the silver waves echoed outward and then settled into a solid wall again. He landed with a heavy thud and curses flew all around him. He was unconscious and exposed and Ginny screamed for him to wake up.

"Protego!" Lupin shouted, sending the spell to expand over Neville's body. He surged forward from behind his cover and grabbed onto the neck of Neville's robes and drug him to safety. Luna and Hermione joined the fight, and the sky lit with the intensity of the added magic in the air. A massive blond death eater was firing curses everywhere and bits of wall were exploding around them. He didn't seem to be aiming for anyone in particular, only trying to cause as much havoc as possible.

Luna's stone gargoyle she had been hiding behind exploded and she threw herself behind Ginny's suit of armor. Ginny reached out and pulled her friend behind her. Dust and smoke filled the air, glowing by the light of spells being cast through the corridor. Ginny's back was turned and she didn't see the monster with the sharp grin running at her and Luna from the opposite direction.

"GINNY!" Bill shouted and threw himself at Greyback just before the massive man hurled himself into both girls. Bill was slammed into the wall. His wand rolled at his feet and with no time to reach down and pick it back up again, he fought the werewolf with his fists. Ginny screamed. Lupin's wand swished in the air, and the monster was ripped from her brother's body. It hit the opposite wall with a crash.

Bill wasn't moving, and crimson blood doused his clothing and pooled along the stone underneath him. His face and shoulder were covered in a sheet of blood and his eyes remained shut even as Ginny called out his name. Her heart stuttered at the sight and dodging another unknown hex, she ran for him. She dropped to the floor next to him and pulled at his body, but he was too heavy. Just then, Professor McGonagall was at her side and together, they pulled Bill's bleeding form away from the flying hexes.

If Ginny hadn't known it was her brother in her arms, she wouldn't have recognized him.

"IT'S OVER, TIME TO GO!" A baritone voice yelled from up above them, but the deafening noises of battle were layered over it and she couldn't tell whom it came from.

Ginny looked up to see that the silver barrier had disappeared, and Harry Potter had just appeared out of nowhere at the foot of the tower steps. Before Harry could even lift his wand, Greyback had sprung at him and they both fell to the ground. A roaring fury swelled up in Ginny and with the might of a Phoenix on fire she raised her wand and shouted, "Petrificus Totalis!"

Greyback flew off Harry instantly.

Before he was able to pick himself up off the ground, a lumpy Death Eater, Amycus Carrow was dueling Ginny. She dodged spell after spell and threw back as many as she could manage in her exhausted state.

"Crucio--Crucio--you can't dance forever, pretty!" he yelled at her.

"Impedimenta!" Harry shouted, returning the favor.

Harry's jinx hit Amycus in the chest. He gave a piglike squeal of pain, was lifted off his feet and slammed into the opposite wall nearby where Ron, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Lupin, each battled a separate Death Eater. Hexes and Unforgivables continued to permeate the air around them ripping rubble from the walls and shattering the windows.

"Who says we never get to have any fun!" Ginny shouted to him, a cautious grin on her face and her eyes still trained on the danger around them. But there was no time for an answer, and he flew past her, ducking as Alecto's curse shot right over his head. The wall exploded above him but he was too quick for it to touch him.

"Take that!" shouted Professor McGonagall at Alecto, and the Death Eater went spinning away down the corridor, arms above her head, her brother Amycus right behind her. The corridor was suddenly silent and five of the eight defenders of Hogwarts stood looking around. Neville, Professor Flitwick, and Bill had been hurt. More people appeared and Professor McGonagall gave orders to treat the injured and notify the Ministry that Hogwarts was under attack. Then McGonagall, Lupin, Tonks, Ron, and Ginny flew up the Astronomy Tower.

It was empty.

"Look!" shouted Tonks, pointing to the sky. A Dark Mark writhed and twisted in the blackened sky above them. Fear filled their hearts.

"NO!" Ginny had never heard such a horrified sound leave Professor McGonagall's mouth.

They followed her eyes, looking down. A human shape was lying on the ground, too far away to be recognizable. Ginny's breath hitched. One by one, each of them flew back down the steps and through the corridors which were now crowded with students.

"Out of the way!" shouted Professor McGonagall, and bodies were pressed up against walls as the corridor quickly cleared to let them through. Out the main doors and onto the lawn the small group stopped in front of the still body splayed out on the grass.

Paralyzing dismay overcame them all.

Tears filled her eyes as Professor McGonagall, swaying a little, approached the body of... of Albus Dumbledore. No. Her logic wanted to repel the thought. This could not be the great Albus Dumbledore. It just couldn't be! But surely, if it weren't, then Dumbledore himself would be standing out there with them all and pondering over the pretend body that looked like him, but that wasn't.

Professor McGonagall kneeled against the damp grass. She placed her hands over his body and Ginny heard her as she wept.

Time seemed to pass very slowly then. There was no direction given and no one standing there knew what to do. Everything they knew about the world suddenly turned sideways and everyone felt a bit lost. Ginny's mind flitted to the same place it always went when trouble is at their doorstep. Harry. Where was he? Was he hurt? She had just decided to go in search for him when the crowds began to move again.

One person pushed his way through the murmuring students. Harry broke through the lines and Hagrid parted it completely behind him. Hagrid's cries of dismay brought tears to everyone's eyes. She watched as Harry walked uneasily to Dumbledore's body and knelt down beside Professor McGonagall.

Eventually the professors caught back up to a sense of rationality and began to usher the students back inside the castle. But Ginny refused to leave, still watching over Harry, and none of the professors seemed to want to make her. He had not moved for some time, so neither did she. She watched as Hagrid eventually approached Harry with a hand on his shoulder and tried to get him to come inside.

"C'mere Harry..."

"No."

"Yeh can' stay here, Harry...Come on, now..."

"No."

Ginny approached and Hagrid nodded and left her to it, not really wanting to be the one to drag Harry away. She reached for Harry's hand and slipped it tenderly into his. "Harry, come on." She said to him and after a moment, he let her pull him from the ground. She wrapped her arm securely around his and led him into the school. He was almost comatose with grief. She could feel it in the way he leaned just slightly against her, and in the way his breaths were quicker and shallower than was typical for him. 

"We're going to the hospital wing," said Ginny.

"I'm not hurt," he replied automatically.

"It's McGonagall's orders. Everyone's up there." she replied. "Ron and Hermione and Lupin--and everyone." Her voice cracked and betrayed her.

"Ginny, who else is dead?" he asked in a small voice that rang with fear.

"Don't worry, none of us." She assured him.

"But the Dark Mark--Malfoy said he stepped over a body."

"He stepped over Bill, but it's alright, he's alive." Her voice faltered a little on the last word. Where Harry's face before had been flat and drained, he suddenly awoke again and looked closely at her. His eyes scanned her face and then down her body as if he were checking to be sure she was really there and uninjured.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Those words carried a double meaning and she was quick to douse his fears.

"Of course I'm sure."

When they were finally walking back toward the hospital wing and Harry was no longer able to scrutinize her, a small tremor let loose inside her for her brother. Her throat constricted and her chin creased with the effort to keep a sob inside. When she had a few solid breaths behind her and felt confident enough that her voice would not betray her, she explained the rest of what had happened while they made their way to the hospital wing.

A Phoenix's lament echoed throughout the castle from somewhere in the darkness outside. The majestic notes weaved through the night's sky with sorrow that saturated the air and suffused deep within each soul that had ears to hear. The night was full of shock and grief at their lost Headmaster and their injured friends and family. They had lost so much that night and yet, were grateful for what they still had. Ginny held to Harry's side and only released him when Professor McGonagall pulled him away for a private word.

Back in the Gryffindor Common Room, she waited for him. The room was jam-packed with students, but Ginny spoke to none of them. She listened to them murmur about what had happened and what was to become of the school. Would it be shut down? Would they be sent home tomorrow? Ginny kept her thoughts to herself.

Harry came through the portrait hole, looking thoroughly defeated, his body slouched as if physical weights had been set upon his shoulders, and he didn't look like he had even the strength to make it to his bed. He spoke to no one and with a tired walk, made his way to the stairs that led to his dormitory. When the crowd's attention was drawn back to their conversations, Ginny got up and followed after Harry up the stairs. She entered his dormitory to find him lying fully clothed on top of his blankets, his back to the door. The room was empty.

She walked to the foot of his bed and sat down. His eyes were open, but he hardly noticed she was there. For a moment she just sat there quietly with him, her hand resting gently on his leg. When his eyes drifted closed, she twisted around and unlaced his trainers one at a time and set them on the floor. Then she pulled the unmade blankets from under him and stretched them out over his body and very gently slipped his glasses off his face and set them on the bedside table next to him. He still held his wand tightly in his hand and Ginny grimaced. She wanted so badly to ask him what had happened tonight, but she didn't dare. It hurt him too much. She did not try to take the wand away from him. He'd had enough taken from him tonight.

She reached up and tugged the curtains until they were almost entirely closed around him. She left only a small opening so he could see her and then kneeled down to sit on the floor next to his bed.

After a few long moments, Ginny quietly got up to leave, but with his free hand Harry reached out and grabbed her wrist. She looked down at him and the fear and guilt in his eyes were unbearable. He looked almost shattered. She worked hard to compose herself so she would not break in front of him. She was desperate to be strong for him right now. Her chin creased again with the effort to withhold it all, so she immediately distracted herself by kicking off her own shoes and pulling back the blankets.

By the time she laid down next to Harry and pulled the last curtain closed, she once again had control over her emotions. His arm curled around and pulled her close and they held each other tightly. She could feel the impression of his wand against her back, but it did not bother her. He was drawing comfort and a sense of security from both her and the wand. So she let him be. Harry's form started to shake and Ginny knew he was crying. She laid her hand gently against the side of his neck, stretching it over as much of his skin as she could reach, and pulled herself closer to him. She laid there with him letting her presence comfort him through the night until the dawn broke free only a few hours later.


	3. Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A man laid to rest, and a heart broken for the greater good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next 30 or so chapters of this are already written, so I'll be posting frequently. They will get longer, with more story and depth. Keep in mind I wrote these early chapters years ago when I was still learning how to craft a story. 
> 
> "A young woman in love always looks like patience on a monument smiling at grief"  
> -William Shakespear, Twelfth Night

Ginny woke late in the day to a warm arm underneath her and a familiar hand stroking her hair. She stirred and Harry's arm pulled her closer to him. Her eyes opened and she looked into his face. He was not smiling, but he seemed less tense. The pain was there, but bearable at the moment.

The room was empty by the time they woke and the curtains were still pulled around them, but neither of them moved to get up. They didn't count the minutes on the clock or worry about who might come looking for them. They just rested there in the quiet of the room and the silent comfort they took from someone who understood. Neither felt the need to offer anything to the other person other than simply their presence.

Ginny was comfortable in Harry's arms and she took pleasure in his scent on the pillow they shared. The night had been long and difficult and she was still tired. She moved in and nestled her face against his neck. He turned to face her and rested his chin against her head in a movement that showed how much he just wanted to be closer to her.

In a gesture that was almost unconscious, Harry continued to run his fingers through her hair and soon, they had both drifted off to a more peaceful sleep than the previous one, without nightmares or tears.

When Ginny awoke for the second time, it was to see Harry looking at her with a very somber expression in his eyes. She didn't speak or smile at him. She waited for an indication of what he might need from her at that moment. Whatever it was, she would give it.

The sun struggled to filter through the curtains around the bed and their little corner of solitude was still very dim around them.

"I love you."

Her eyes grew wide and she couldn't hide the surprise at his words in her expression. The overwhelming feelings of fear and heartbreak from the night before had already almost overtaken her, and this newest emotion threatened to be too much. She thought it might push her over the edge.

But a joyful kind of contentment blossomed in her at his honest expression of love and it began to balance out the feelings of anxiety that had already filled her to the brim. It didn't take away the fear or the anxiety, but it did equalize these stirrings inside her. She'd known for a long time now that she loved him, but to hear her love returned was more comforting that she could have imagined.

Harry continued, "I want you to know that...I love you." He put a strong emphasis on the last part.

It seemed that neither one of them wanted to miss the chance to tell the other how they felt about them. Life was so delicate, as they already knew, but somehow, yesterday had added new urgency to the matter.

"I think you already know how I feel, Harry," Ginny said, mirroring his own tone.

He kissed her then. Not with the quick lust of teenage need that was their usual, but with a slow tenderness that she couldn't bear to ignore. He held her as if she were something precious. And then he worshiped her face with his lips until he was too overcome with his emotions to continue.

"I don't think I'm ready to face today," Harry whispered again.

"I don't think any of us would ever be ready to face this day," said Ginny "but we will anyway because we need to."

"Will you stay with me?" he asked quietly.

She reached up with her hand and softly brushed the fringe from his eyes. "Of course I will."

It wasn't long then before they both heard the footsteps coming up the staircase.

"C'mon, mate, let's go down. You should eat something," Ron said as he pushed aside the red curtains of Harry's bed, but his words caught in his throat when he eyed Harry and Ginny lying together. They both looked at him, saying nothing and without even of a look of embarrassment or apology on their faces. Harry looked like hell, his eyes still a bit puffy and his hair ruffled more than usual from his terrible night of sleep.

Ron's eyes sprinted back and forth between Harry and Ginny, finally settling on his sister, who's warning glare reminded him too much of his mother to say what he'd been thinking just then. He cleared his throat and then wisely changed direction.

"...Me and Hermione were getting hungry and figured you didn't want to go down alone."

Harry nodded then and looked at Ginny. "We'll be down in a minute."

"...Ginny." Ron acknowledged her before turning and exiting back down the stairs.

"That went, uh, well," said Harry, a little astonished.

"Today's not the day to be arguing amongst ourselves. I think even Ron knows that." Ginny replied.

And it seemed the rest of the school felt that way as well. There was never such a despondent mood in the great hall as there was the week after Dumbledore's death, but something else seemed to be happening as well. The first day, the atmosphere around the castle was grey and downcast, the students that were left after several sets of parents came around to collect some of them, were quiet and mostly kept to themselves.

Everyone expected some sort of speech or announcement from the Professors, but even their faces were still pale with the shock of the night before and overcome with grief themselves. Dumbledore's chair stood empty at the center of the staff table, a clear acknowledgment of our loss. No one could resist looking up at it and a feeling of somberness washed over them whenever they did.

By the second day, there were signs of life again in the small form of students talking quietly among themselves. The third day, several students were ignoring their own house tables in preference for their neighbors. In the aftermath of their loss, a mood of solidarity settled over the ones affected.

The walls came down.

They learned that grieving didn't have barriers. It didn't have rules. It didn't have houses. Seeing tears in an enemy's eyes turned them into a friend, and the students found themselves comforting those they wouldn't have even spoken to the day before.

The walls in place that separated the Gryffindors from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and even a good few of the Slytherins had come down. For those few days, no one sat at their designated tables, and no teacher came to separate them. Ginny thought she had noticed a few tears in Professor McGonagall's eyes the first day she walked into the great hall and saw this strange occurrence.

It seemed that they had all been reminded of the fragility of life, and no one wanted to lose out on the opportunity to tell someone that they cared for them. To spend precious time with the ones they love and the ones whose friendships mean the world to them. Ginny thought that Dumbledore would have been happy that, at the very least, his death was bringing together a divided school. How long this could last no one would have dared to guess, but even a single day of solidarity was healing and magical to behold.

Ginny spent every moment of that week with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, none of them leaving the others side, none of them excluded from the group. She normally would have given Harry his personal time with Ron and Hermione, but he held her by his side day in and day out throughout that week. When Harry would follow his friends somewhere, he was sure to hold on to Ginny's hand and bring her along. She knew that she was Harry's strongest source of comfort in those few days, and for her as well, it was encouraging to have him close and to know he wanted her there.

But Ginny was not stupid. She had spent most of the week contemplating her own silent thoughts, and many possibilities crossed her mind. She knew that with Dumbledore gone, it might not be safe for Harry to return to Hogwarts. Dumbledore had been the greatest protector the school had ever had, and with Voldemort back and with Death Eaters who apparently had easy access to what was once their place of safety, it was not surprising that she was beginning to realize that things were about to change in a dramatic way.

Ginny was scared for him, but would never speak it out loud. She also knew what it might mean for the two of them. Although Harry held her close, and it seemed he would never let her go, she was not blind to what the future held for them. If the prophecy they went after that night at the Ministry was any indication, then Harry had a job to do. She did not know the details of it, but she had a vague idea, and she would not become an obstacle for him.

She would stand with him if he asked. And if he didn't, that was ok too. But as much as she was capable of hiding her emotions, she couldn't exactly control them. Her stomach fluttered with the growing pains of hurt when she thought of the end of what had been the most wonderful few months of her life.

Harry held to her so tightly those few days, it was almost as if he knew it too, and was trying to fit everything into their limited time together. Every touch, every kiss, every smile with her before he was forced to let her down gently and take the world on his shoulders.

The morning dawned a glorious blue, almost mocking them with the difficulties that the day to come held. Lying Dumbledore to rest. The procession was beautiful, of course, and the speeches were profound, but none of that really mattered to the four teenagers that sat together and paid their last respects.

After the service had ended and the crowds were taking their leave, Harry seemed to hold her hand just a little tighter.

But she knew it was time to go. Time to move forward. Time to let him go. Or at least to attempt to.

"Ginny....listen," Harry said very quietly as the buzz of conversation grew louder around them. "I can't be involved with you anymore. We've got to stop seeing each other. We can't be together."

And that flutter of hurt, although expected, shook her soul a little. She did not let it show on her face. She hated to let this moment pass without finding some way to let him know she was not angry with him.

So with an oddly twisted smile, she said, "It's for some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?"

"It's been like...like something out of someone else's life, these last few weeks with you," said Harry. "But I can't...we can't...I've got things to do alone now."

She did not cry, she simply looked at him with an unholy amount of strength behind her eyes and nodded.

"Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to. He's already used you as bait once, and that was just because you're my best friend's sister. Think how much danger you'll be in if we keep this up. He'll know, he'll find out. He'll try and get to me through you."

She knew he was right, but still, she wanted to show him that her love was greater than any fear. She was annoyed that he was right, that he spoke the truth.

"What if I don't care?" said Ginny fiercely.

"I care," said Harry, in almost a whisper, so tender that it stole the fury right out of her. "How do you think I'd feel if this were your funeral...and it was my fault..."

She looked away from him, over the lake.

"I never really gave up on you," she said, and she hoped that Harry saw the implied meaning underneath that statement, that still, she would not give up on him. "Not really. I always hoped...Hermione told me to get on with my life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more--myself."

"Smart girl, that Hermione," said Harry, trying to smile. "I just wished I'd asked you sooner. We could have had ages...months...years maybe..."

"But you've been too busy saving the Wizarding World," said Ginny, half laughing. "Well...I can't say I'm surprised. I knew this would happen in the end. I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were hunting Voldemort. Maybe that's why I like you so much," She grinned at him.

Harry stared at her for one long moment with more resignation in his eyes than she ever wished to see, then got up and walked away from her.

Her breath hitched just slightly, and trying to keep the tears from her eyes, she turned away from his retreating form to face Ron and Hermione. They had not noticed the conversation between her and Harry. Ron cradled her under his arm, unashamed of the tears falling down his long nose, and stroked her curls and she cried softly into his shoulder.

She looked away from them, and suddenly she felt very empty. She couldn't stand it. She got up and walked away from the tear-filled crowd and away from everyone who seemed to have someone to lay their sorrow on.

Within the hour, the Hogwarts Express was whisking them away from the castle and grounds that held such unfriendly reminders of all that had caused them pain these past few days. The end of the school year had come at the precise time it was needed, for many may not have lasted the rest of the year in any case.

As the train clacked under her, she watched the haze of green outside her window slide by, and every moment she beat back the instinct to cry. She held her rucksack in front of her like a shield and composed herself. She continued the mindless gathering of her things off the train, her quiet mind on the ride home, and then unfocused eyes up three flights of stairs and finally, into the glorious solitude of her bedroom.

But the moment the door was shut her shoulders crumpled in on herself and she gasped as her hands came up to clutch at her heart. She felt utterly ridiculous crying over a boy like this, but these awful teenage emotions got the best of her occasionally, and she was ok with that. She wanted to hurt right now. She wanted to cry, and she wanted the world to just leave her alone long enough for her to do it.

She didn't care that the floor was cold, or that her tears could probably be heard two floors down.


End file.
